The Annual Cy Young Draft

• 🎙️ The "Talkin' Baseball" crew, including Jimmy, Jake, Trev, and BBD, kicks off their annual Cy Young draft.
• 🏆 The draft aims to select pitchers who are predicted to win or receive votes for the Cy Young award.
• 📜 A key rule is that each participant must select at least one pitcher who has never received a Cy Young vote before.

Draft Strategy and Early Picks

• 🥇 BBD secures the first overall pick, while Jake takes the second, and Trev opts for the wraparound pick.
• 🌟 Yoshinobu Yamamoto is an early, flashy pick, noted as a player who has never received a vote before.
• 🚀 Spencer Strider is selected by Jake, praised for his high strikeout potential despite concerns about ERA consistency.
• 💡 Logan Webb is chosen for his ability to eat innings and his strong performance potential.

Mid-Draft Selections and Rationale

• 🟠 Corbin Burnes is picked for his Stuff Plus rating and competitive attitude.
• 🧑‍⚕️ Max Fried is selected, with a focus on his potential in a walk year and his perceived focus.
• 🌟 Freddy Peralta is chosen as a dark horse pick, high on analytics lists, with a focus on his vertical acceleration (VAA).
• ⚾ George Kirby is selected for his consistency, low walk rate, and potential to improve.
• 🌟 Zack Gallen and Zack Wheeler are picked as strong NL contenders, forming a "two Sacks" strategy.

Later Round Picks and Sleeper Candidates

• 🌟 Sunny Gray is selected for his leadership role with the Cardinals and consistent performance.
• 🛡️ Kevin Gausman is chosen as a safe pick, noted for his improving stats and strikeout ability.
• 🚀 Cole Irvin is picked as a high-upside lefty, favored by pitching analysts.
• 💎 Christian Javier is selected as an Astros pitcher with potential bounce-back ability and a strong 2022 season.
• 🌟 Justin Steele is added as a lefty option, with praise for his performance and potential.
• 🌊 Tarik Skubal is chosen as a less safe, high-upside lefty pick who hasn't received votes yet.
• 🌟 Yuri Perez is a young, high-potential pick, seen as a potential "Sandy Koufax 2.0".
• ☀️ Pablo Lopez is selected as an "industry plant" with momentum to win the Cy Young.

Notable Omissions and Final Thoughts

• 🚫 Notable omissions include Framber Valdez, Kodai Senga, Joe Musgrove, Shane Bieber, and Grayson Rodriguez.
• 🤔 The crew discusses their final team compositions, considering factors like strikeout potential, consistency, and sleeper candidates.
• 🏆 The draft concludes with predictions on who might perform best and who the audience might favor.